George Osborne Claims Victory as £1.7bn EU Tax Bill Slashed in Half and Deadline Pushed Back

The Chancellor George Osborne has secured a victory after the European Union (EU) agreed to push back the UK's deadline for a £1.7bn tax bill and accept just half the original surcharge.

The move means that the bill from Brussels will not have to be paid until 1 September 2015, instead of 1 December, the UK will pay a total of £850m.

"The council today agreed to ask the European Commission to propose a change of the current rules allowing member states to defer the payments over a reasonable period of time, no later than 1 September," an EU source told IBTimes UK.